Exploring “New World in the Making” with Malgorzata Drohomirecka and
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| As our third talent development artist, Sally worked closely with Sheba Arts to produce her show, La Nagualita. The culmination of this work was shared in the closing event of Sheba Festival 2023 at Instituto Cervantes. Whilst the dust has settled and the jaguar mask has been put away, Sally’s work is by no means over… we caught up with her to hear about how she found La Nagualita and discover what her next steps might be. How was your experience of working with the Sheba Arts team? I learnt so much from this experience working with a bigger team. I learnt about leadership, team management and project planning. I realised how important it is to have someone in the team who is dedicated to these tasks. For example: ACE funding application and process; timeline making with deadlines and tasks; contract writing and management; how to use google drive folders and documents; elements on budget management like receipts keeping & invoices process; accounts management. |  |
How was your experience of working with other artists to create your own work – would you do it again?
I really enjoyed working with the other artists and sharing my culture with them. We shared skills and knowledge with each other. I felt there was a great connection between all the dancers and myself, and the working environment was really good and safe. Everyone felt like they could contribute with artistic ideas and suggestions. I feel we all had different approaches and could learn a lot from each other; for example, I learned lots of new dance styles from Miss Fuego, and lots of recording and editing skills from Jova. Johnny and Su were also great, as they contributed lots of ideas and knowledge of movement and dance for the show.
I really enjoyed working with the other artists and sharing my culture with them. We shared skills and knowledge with each other. I felt there was a great connection between all the dancers and myself, and the working environment was really good and safe. Everyone felt like they could contribute with artistic ideas and suggestions. I feel we all had different approaches and could learn a lot from each other; for example, I learned lots of new dance styles from Miss Fuego, and lots of recording and editing skills from Jova. Johnny and Su were also great, as they contributed lots of ideas and knowledge of movement and dance for the show.
 | This is the first time you’ve worked with a bigger team; did you learn anything, and did you feel supported? I learned so much from working with a bigger team, especially surrounding leadership and project planning. I realised how important it is to have someone in the team who is dedicated to tasks such as funding applications, timeline making, and administrative support. This project has contributed a lot to my artistic skills. It was the first time I worked collaboratively with artists from refugee and migrant LGBTQ+ communities, and I gained confidence and skills in costume design and choreography. Do you feel this project helped to grow your network and connections in the local LGBTQ+ community? Yes, absolutely. I learned a lot from the artists themselves as they belong to the LGBTQ+ community and their experiences in Manchester, and I also connected with other groups. For example, Miss Fuego introduced me to a vogue dancing group in Manchester, where I attended a couple of workshops with them and learnt about vogue culture, dance and catwalk moves. |
What would you like to focus your career development on next? Which areas are you most interested in?
I would love to continue exploring the 3 areas: dance, storytelling and costume design as I see my work is a combination of them all. I particularly think I need more support and learning to improve my dance skills (dance lessons, theatrical dance, choreography mentoring) and costume design and making. I’d love to learn about pattern cutting and making.
Any other comments?
My experience with Sheba Arts was LA BOMBA!*
*the bomb, i.e. very good.
I would love to continue exploring the 3 areas: dance, storytelling and costume design as I see my work is a combination of them all. I particularly think I need more support and learning to improve my dance skills (dance lessons, theatrical dance, choreography mentoring) and costume design and making. I’d love to learn about pattern cutting and making.
Any other comments?
My experience with Sheba Arts was LA BOMBA!*
*the bomb, i.e. very good.
Watch the interview highlights below!
Creating Place is a ground-breaking project we co-produce with the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh. This project brings people from diverse backgrounds together to share skills and experiences and creates dialogues . In this post you learn more about this project from Beena Nouri, the main facilitator of the project.
For 12 weeks Beena worked with migrant community in Leigh town centre, in kingsleigh community centre. Each week the participants explored a different material or art form. The work in now on display at the Turnpike Gallery as a co-created, collaborative exhibition. Participants made clay tiles which Beena has put up as a wall, fitting together everyone's different designs into one big image. The explored weaving through making baskets, bowls and textiles.
Beena reflected that these workshops allow people to come together and do something creative. It isn't just what's being made that matters, it's the process. There's a lot of chat in the workshops, people asking each other about ‘where is the food bank?’ or ‘I didn't know there was a gallery here, where is it?’. This artistic space opened up a soft and welcoming environment for people to get together, giving space for people to talk and build their own community.
As a community facilitator and architectural designer, Beena has a unique understanding of what creating a place can mean. Beena studied an MA in Architecture and for her the combination of architecture and art is a powerful tool to redefine space for the communities it serves. Through her masters and her work as a community facilitator she is learning constantly about how people experience space. In the future she would love to put this thinking into practice and create a community centre with refugees and asylum seekers co-designed to suit the communities needs.
She also highlighted the way in which refugee and asylum communities are often forced into repurposed or clinical spaces. The current hotel accommodation being a clear example of this, we spoke about how cruel it is to expect people to make a home in a place where you cannot even mark the wall or cook a meal. In hotels you can't have any ownership over your own space or what you can do in that space.
Creating Place is about opening up a space where people can make things and not just inhabit them. Through this project we, as a community, can all come together and collectively make something new.
The exhibition launched in July and will be open until 16th September. The celebratory event will be on 15th September at the Turnpike Gallery.
Post by Maddie Wakeling
Beena reflected that these workshops allow people to come together and do something creative. It isn't just what's being made that matters, it's the process. There's a lot of chat in the workshops, people asking each other about ‘where is the food bank?’ or ‘I didn't know there was a gallery here, where is it?’. This artistic space opened up a soft and welcoming environment for people to get together, giving space for people to talk and build their own community.
As a community facilitator and architectural designer, Beena has a unique understanding of what creating a place can mean. Beena studied an MA in Architecture and for her the combination of architecture and art is a powerful tool to redefine space for the communities it serves. Through her masters and her work as a community facilitator she is learning constantly about how people experience space. In the future she would love to put this thinking into practice and create a community centre with refugees and asylum seekers co-designed to suit the communities needs.
She also highlighted the way in which refugee and asylum communities are often forced into repurposed or clinical spaces. The current hotel accommodation being a clear example of this, we spoke about how cruel it is to expect people to make a home in a place where you cannot even mark the wall or cook a meal. In hotels you can't have any ownership over your own space or what you can do in that space.
Creating Place is about opening up a space where people can make things and not just inhabit them. Through this project we, as a community, can all come together and collectively make something new.
The exhibition launched in July and will be open until 16th September. The celebratory event will be on 15th September at the Turnpike Gallery.
Post by Maddie Wakeling
Finding Voice And Identity
Through Writing and Poetry
with
Maryam Alsaeid
Listen to this episode to hear about some struggles of being a poet and a writer but also for the other beautiful and fascinating sides of it. A talented poet and a practicing pharmacist Maryam Alsaeid joins our podcast for this episode to talk about her creative journey and the things that she does as a poet.
Maryam also talks about the importance of being vulnerable. She took some inspiration from Brene Brown for her vulnerable rumble sessions that she shares on her social profiles.
Maryam creates workshops and she currently leads some of them for our writing project that we are doing in collaboration with Commonword that started some time ago.
Head over to our projects page to read more about it.
Listen to our full conversation below or search us on Spotify.
Maryam also talks about the importance of being vulnerable. She took some inspiration from Brene Brown for her vulnerable rumble sessions that she shares on her social profiles.
Maryam creates workshops and she currently leads some of them for our writing project that we are doing in collaboration with Commonword that started some time ago.
Head over to our projects page to read more about it.
Listen to our full conversation below or search us on Spotify.
Exploring The Importance Of Creating Our Own Communities
With
Gulcin Bulut
In this episode, we are joined by a new guest speaker.
Gulcin Bulut is a psychotherapist, singer,
frame drum player and a creative producer.
And in this episode, we had a very insightful conversation,
as Gulcin has told us more about the North West Turkish Community Association,
how it was formed and her contributions as one of the core founders.
We also talked about an important link between music and our mental health.
Our mental state can be affected by music and also by the way we interact with it.
Listen to the episode below and let us know what you think.
Exploring The Importance Of Writing
with
Hadisa Hussain Afzaly
In our second episode, we had a special conversation with a poet Hadisa Hussain.
Together we’ve explored the impact that our environment has on our potential and our comfort. Hadisa has also emphasised the importance of writing and keeping a record of the current events happening in society. Such records will impact the future and will help the future generation to understand all the events that people are experiencing in the current days. It’s such an interesting conversation!
Together we’ve explored the impact that our environment has on our potential and our comfort. Hadisa has also emphasised the importance of writing and keeping a record of the current events happening in society. Such records will impact the future and will help the future generation to understand all the events that people are experiencing in the current days. It’s such an interesting conversation!
Listen Now
In our podcast we explore migration, wealth of different cultures, different art forms and just have conversations with different interesting people.
Our first episode, we have a special guest Beena Nouri who is an architectural designer in Manchester. In 2019, she received a commission to create a painting for our Celebrating Diversity Festival. She then took part in our co-training programme and became a valuable member of Sheba Arts.
In our second episode, we had a special conversation with a poet Hadisa Hussain. Together we’ve explored the impact that our environment has on our potential and our comfort. Hadisa has also emphasised the importance of writing and keeping a record of the current events happening in society. Such records will impact the future and will help the future generation to understand all the events that people are experiencing in the current days. It’s such an interesting conversation!
